I mean, I’m a little down on Colby Rasmus, too. It’s probably not a good thing that he listens to his dad either as much or more than he listens to his big-league coaches. His defense hasn’t been nearly as good this year as it was when he entered the league in 2009. And after a sneaky-exceptional offensive season as a sophomore in 2010, Rasmus has taken an obvious step backwards in 2011.

But this is a great deal for the Blue Jays. It’s a lot like last year’s Alex Gonzalez-for-Yunel Escobar swap, though this one has even more upside.

Rasmus is just 24. He’s hit .259/.334/.444 in his three seasons, giving him 111 OPS+. The only guys 25 or younger with better OPS+ the last three years are Evan Longoria, Carlos Gonzalez, Billy Butler, Justin Upton, Andrew McCutchen, Pablo Sandoval, Jay Bruce and Asdrubal Cabrera. He’s a long-term answer in center field for the Blue Jays, and the biggest thing Toronto gave up to get him was Marc Rzepczynski.

I just can’t believe that the Cardinals, even if they felt that they had to move him, couldn’t get more for Rasmus. A legitimate No. 2 starter or an All-Star-caliber middle infielder. They gave up a terrific long-term property without getting a real difference-maker in return. There’s the chance that Jackson will step it up under Dave Duncan’s tutelage, but he was working under a great pitching coach in Chicago and was just as maddening as usual. I do like Rzep, both as a reliever now and maybe as a starter next year. He’s under control through 2015, and he should be a nice asset for years.

But that’s not enough of a haul for Rasmus. If they wanted Dotel, he would have been easy enough to pick up in a separate deal. Corey Patterson? Really? They couldn’t even get the Jays to part with Rajai Davis instead? Davis is certainly expendable enough with Rasmus’ arrival, and his right-handed bat makes far more sense for the Cardinals. Jon Jay, who will replace Rasmus as the team’s primary center fielder, is a left-handed hitter, just like Patterson.

As for the rest of the players the Jays got, it was really just the dregs of the Cardinals’ roster. Miller, who reportedly will be moved on to the White Sox as part of the original Edwin Jackson deal, has been useless as a lefty specialist lately. Walters probably would have been bumped from the 40-man to make room for one of the four newcomers. Tallet had an 8.31 ERA in 13 innings before going on the disabled list. Absorbing the remainder of his $750,000 contract was part of the cost of doing business.

The Jays made out like bandits here, even after factoring in the hidden costs. They were forced to take on $7.5 million unwanted dollars by absorbing the Mark Teahen and Tallet contracts. They gave up the possibility of two supplemental first-round picks by moving Jason Frasor and Dotel. And Rzepczynski is an underrated property with his fine 2.97 ERA in 39 1/3 innings out of the pen this year. But to get a player like Rasmus, it really wasn’t much of a price to pay.

Update: For what it’s worth, the deal is now official and the Blue Jays are also surrendering three players to be named or cash considerations. Hopefully there will be at least one interesting player in there for St. Louis.

Update (7:51 PM ET): ESPN’s Buster Olney says the deal isn’t final yet. Rosenthal says that any delay on this trade is due to Kinsler’s no-trade clause, but he still expects the deal to happen.

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Angels will acquire second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Tigers. It is not known yet what the Tigers will receive in return. Kinsler had to waive his no-trade clause in order for the deal to happen.

Kinsler, 35, hit .236/.313/.412 with 22 home runs, 52 RBI, 90 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases in 613 plate appearances for the Tigers this past season. He’s in the final year of his contract and will earn $10 million for the 2018 season.

The Angels were certainly looking to upgrade at second base and did so with Kinsler. They were also reportedly interested in Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies.